Bucs Claim Showdown With Bruins
Area men
The George Fox Bruins are young, they’re small, and for much of Saturday night’s Northwest Conference basketball showdown at Whitworth College, they were the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.
But the Bruins played 40 minutes of body-on-body defense, and the eighth-ranked Pirates had to scrap every step of the way to earn a 74-65 victory, their 40th straight in their home, the jam-packed Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates (9-2, 13-4 NCIC) and Bruins came in tied for the conference lead after Whitman knocked off George Fox Friday night in Walla Walla. It was apparent Saturday that the Bruins would go as far as their defense could take them.
George Fox survived the second-half scoring run that has buried many an opponent during the Pirates’ three-year home win streak. They clawed their way back into the contest after a 9-2 burst that gave Whitworth a 51-42 lead with 12:30 left in the game.
The Bruins (8-3, 10-7) rallied with their next-best weapon, the 3-ball, knocking in four treys in the next 6 minutes to pull within two points at 60-58. But they had been in foul trouble since early in the second half, and the double-bonus (two free throws every time after 10 fouls) was Whitworth’s best friend down the stretch.
Indeed, the Pirates went almost 6 minutes without a field goal. However, they hit 12 straight free throws and 15 of 16 while it was still close. Whitworth’s leading scorer, Ben Heimerman, made only four field goals, but he was 9 for 10 from the line for 19 points.
“What a great defensive game both ways!” Whitworth coach Warren Friedrichs said after the game. “Both teams shot about 10 percentage points under their average, and with the big crowd, it was a playoff atmosphere.
“We had quite a size advantage, but their guards are so good that we had trouble getting the ball inside where we could use it.”
Whitworth outrebounded the Bruins 46-31 (Heimerman had 12), and the Pirates played some pretty good defense, too. George Fox shot only 38 percent from the field, and the Bruins made only nine of their 27 tries beyond the 3-point arc.
The Pirates trailed most of the first half even though 6-foot-7 Jared Gallup, the NCIC’s leading scorer, had two fouls in the first 2 minutes and spent most of the night in foul trouble. George Fox’s biggest lead was seven points, at 16-9.
But Whitworth hit seven 3s before intermission for a 35-32 lead and gave up the advantage just once in the second half. Greg Jones added 13 points, posting up smaller defenders successfully after halftime, and Ryan Nelson, with three early 3s, scored 11.
Junior point guard Kyle Valentine led George Fox with 20 points, but was 5 for 14 from the field. Gallup had 15 points and nine rebounds.
Whitworth 74, George Fox 65
George Fox - K.Valentine 5-14 7-8 20, Green 2-4 0-0 6, Cruz 1-4 0-0 3, J.Valentine 1-4 1-1 3, Newkirk 1-4 0-1 3, Gallup 6-11 2-2 15, Kroon 2-4 0-0 4, Faber 4-15 2-2 12. Totals 22-60 12-14 65.
Whitworth - Mix 3-7 3-5 10, Weston 2-5 3-4 9, Schulz 5-8 0-0 10, Nakanishi 0-0 0-3 0, Nelson 3-7 2-4 11, Heimerman 4-8 9-10 19, Jordan 0-2 2-2 2, Jones 5-15 2-2 13, Ruebel 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 21-30 74.
Halftime - Whitworth 35, George Fox 32. 3-point goals - George Fox 9-27 (K.Valentine 3-6, Faber 2-9, Gallup 1-1, Green 1-2, Newkirk 1-3, Cruz 1-4, J.Valentin 0-2), Whitworth 9-18 (Nelson 3-5, Weston 2-3, Heimerman 2-4, Mix 1-1, Jones 1-3, Jordan 0-1, Ruebel 0-1). Fouled out - Green, Gallup. Rebounds - George Fox 31 (Gallup 9), Whitworth 46 (Heimerman 12). Assists - George Fox 11 (K.Valentine 5), Whitworth 12 (Weston 3). Total fouls - George Fox 25, Whitworth 13. Technicals - None. A - NA.
CCS 93, Blue Mountain 67
Kurt Long scored 26 points and Mike Mostek backed him up with 24 as the Sasquatch romped to an NWAACC victory over the Timberwolves at Spokane CC.
Blue Mountain - Miller 3-11 2-4 10, Patrick 0-2 2-4 2, Ravenhorst 1-9 6-6 9, Passey 2-4 2-2 7, Gibor 2-6 0-0 5, Miyasaki 2-6 0-0 4, Seaton 3-10 3-6 10, Holtzen 4-12 0-0 9, Elfering 4-11 2-5 10, Boyer 0-2 0-0 0, Dickeson 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 21-72 18-27 67.
Community Colleges of Spokane - Cardwell 2-4 1-2 7, Huston 2-5 1-2 5, Darnold 0-0 0-0 0, Spencer 3-6 2-2 8, Murbach 0-0 0-0 0, Mostek 8-12 3-4 24, Ahrens 0-0 0-0 0, Day 3-11 2-4 8, Schulz 2-2 0-1 4, Long 10-14 6-7 26, Singleton 0-0 0-0 0, Gordon 4-7 3-3 11. Totals 34-61 18-25 93.
Halftime - CC Spokane 42, Blue Mountain CC 32. 3-point goals - Blue Mountain CC 7-28 (Miller 2-7, Passey 1-2, Gibor 1-3, Seaton 1-3, Ravenhorst 1-5, Holtzen 1-7, Patrick 0-1), CC Spokane 7-11 (Mostek 5-7, Cardwell 2-2, Huston 0-1, Spencer 0-1). Fouled out - Elfering. Rebounds - Blue Mountain CC 25 (Elfering 6), CC Spokane 43 (Day 11). Assists - Blue Mountain 7 (Miller 4), CC Spokane 23 (Cardwell 5). Total fouls - Blue Mountain CC 25, CC Spokane 23. A - NA.
North Idaho 74, Utah Valley 65
Nathaniel Bailey, the smallest player on the court, came up with 25 points after 6-foot-10 Steve Ryan suffered a broken nose, leading the Cardinals (13-8, 4-7 Scenic West) to their victory over the Wolverines (17-6, 6-5) at Coeur d’Alene.
Utah Valley State (17-6, 6-5) - Chappell 3-6 0-0 8, Frampton 1-3 0-0 2, Mulford 3-7 2-2 10, Peirce 1-1 0-0 2, Lindquist 2-8 4-4 8, Rivers 7-8 3-5 17, Davis 0-2 1-2 1, Wheeler 1-4 2-3 4, Puemier 0-2 0-0 0, Beard 6-9 1-1 13. Totals 24-50 13-17 65.
North Idaho (13-8, 4-7) - Johnson 7-11 5-6 20, Bailey 7-15 8-12 25, Goodman 4-11 0-1 9, Houston 3-5 2-2 8, Clay 0-2 0-0 0, Watson 1-3 0-0 2, Fisher 2-3 2-2 6, Al-Arorey 0-1 0-0 0, Ryan 1-6 2-2 4. Totals 25-57 19-25 74.
Halftime - Utah Valley State 31, North Idaho 30. 3-point goals - Utah Valley State 4-10 (Chappell 2-3, Mulford 2-6, Davis 0-1), North Idaho 5-16 (Bailey 3-6, Johnson 1-1, Goodman 1-6, Clay 0-1, Watson 0-2). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Utah Valley State 38 (Rivers, Beard 9), North Idaho 26 (Al-Arorey 6). Assists - Utah Valley State 16 (Rivers 6), North Idaho 17 (Goodman 6). Total fouls - Utah Valley State 22, North Idaho 19. A - NA.
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